Hybrid tug power for Svitzer Australia

16 Aug 2012

The Wärtsilä 20 engine

Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the power system for four new diesel-electric powered tugs being built for Svitzer Australia at the ASL shipyard in Singapore, scheduled to be in operation by early 2014.

Wärtsilä says this order demonstrates its ability to meet the demands for operational economy and environmental sustainability set for modern vessels in different shipping segments. Each of the four 80t BP harbour tugs will be fitted with two nine-cylinder and one eight-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 20 engine-driven gensets, which the company says is the first such application in the tug market.

The engines will operate on MGO as fuel, while the tugs will be equipped with batteries that allow power from the generating sets to be stored for later use.

"Modern tugs need to feature both fuel efficiency and environmental sustainability, as well as lifecycle reliability. This contract represents further evidence of Wärtsilä's strength in meeting these demands, and further emphasises our ability to offer sophisticated diesel-electric machinery solutions for this particular sector of the marine industry," says Aaron Bresnahan, vice president, Wärtsilä Ship Power specials. "By selecting Wärtsilä 20 engines for the diesel-electric generating sets, the owner will benefit from their robustness and reliability, which has been proven by the fact that more than 4000 of the engines have been delivered since this model was introduced to the market in the early 1990s. The Wärtsilä 20 offers low exhaust gas emissions, low operating costs, fuel economy across the entire engine operation range, and high redundancy."